Vehicle Equipped with Safety System and Method of Responding to an Unauthorized Possession of a Vehicle

ABSTRACT

A method of, and safety system usable in, responding to an unauthorized possession of a vehicle configured to transport at least one person, including the steps of: obtaining the vehicle with the safety system associated therewith, the safety system configured to at least one of: a) generate at least one form of detectable signal; b) generate an electronic signal; and c) generate at least one image of a person in/on the vehicle; and generating an input to cause the system to generate at least one of: i) the at least one form of detectable signal that can be sensed by persons in the vicinity of the vehicle; ii) the electronic signal; and iii) the at least one image of a person in/on the vehicle. The system is configured so that at least one of the at least one form of detectable signal, the electronic signal, and the at least one image is generated after a time delay following the generation of the input to the safety system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

This invention relates to self-propelled vehicles and, moreparticularly, to a method of responding to an unauthorized possession ofa vehicle. The invention is further directed to a vehicle equipped witha safety system through which the method can be practiced.

Background Art

As the number of self-propelled vehicles, such as cars, trucks,motorcycles, etc. continues to increase worldwide, so does the incidenceof theft associated with such vehicles.

Vehicle theft has been a persistent problem that has challenged lawenforcement agencies for decades. As the number, and value, of suchvehicles continue to increase, they become more enticing to individualthieves and an industry that coordinates theft rings worldwide.

Theft of unoccupied vehicles causes damages that are primarily economicin nature. Sophisticated thieves can appropriate vehicles without beingobserved or recognized by vehicle owners or law enforcement personnel.Vehicles may be relocated or stripped whereby they may not be lateridentified or recovered.

The extent of theft has led car manufacturers, and businesses offeringsecurity systems, to devise security systems that will challenge eventhe most sophisticated of thieves. Modern vehicles utilizecomputer-driven technology that makes “hotwiring” difficult orimpossible, and starting of most vehicles without access to a vehicle'sfob effectively impossible. The success of these systems has preventedmuch theft but has led to an expansion of the crime of vehiclehijacking.

Vehicle hijackers are able to exploit the fact that the vehicle they areovertaking is already in an operating state, obviating the need tohardwire or otherwise start the vehicle engine. Vehicle hijackingintroduces danger that may not be present with a simple theft.

One of the most dangerous situations is one wherein the vehicle beinghijacked has multiple occupants. Many carjackings take place with youngpassengers involved, including toddlers property restrained within thevehicle.

Unfortunately, many vehicle owners instinctively take dangerous actionsto protect their family and friends and the substantial Investment theymay have in a vehicle. Carjackers typically react to this emotionalresponse by quickly and violently completing the act of overtaking thevehicle owner and escaping with the vehicle. This has led to a largenumber of carjackings wherein the occupants remain with the hijackedvehicle and face an uncertain outcome depending upon the state of mindof the carjacker.

Generally, a carjacker's success hinges upon being able to ultimatelyleave the carjacking scene and pull into an area to be undetected orblend into other traffic such that identification may be delayed longenough that the carjacker will not be caught.

Common sense dictates that particularly when only a driver is involved,the vehicle should be surrendered with little resistance. However, manypeople impulsively act to protect their investment, operating thevehicle at all times with the preconceived notion that they may not seetheir stolen vehicle again and they may not be made whole by insurance.

The problem is aggravated when other occupants of the vehicle, andparticularly young occupants, have their safety compromised by thecarjacking situation. Vehicle owners could be more composed in acarjacking situation if they were confident that the carjacker could beproperly identified and arrested after the event takes place. Currently,the only peace of mind offered the vehicle owner is that once thecarjacking is phoned into the law enforcement community, extreme stepsgenerally will be taken to recover the stolen vehicle in a short periodof time.

Aside from the danger faced by the vehicle owner and the vehicleoccupants, carjacking situations place in danger the law enforcementcommunity and the general public. Carjackers often recklessly leave acarjacking scene driving at high speeds. This puts pedestrians in dangerand puts at risk other vehicles on the highways in the vicinity of thehijacking. Still further, law enforcement will commonly engage acarjacker in a high speed chase, which may have dangerous consequences.

Many governmental agencies are attempting to prevent vehicle hijackingsby increasing the numbers of law enforcement personnel tasked with beingpresent to intervene in a hijack situation before the hijacker(s) canescape. As a practical matter, the vast geographical expanse inmonitored areas and large number of vehicles make this proposed solutionof limited value. The penalties facing a prosecuted hijacker currentlyare not severe in most jurisdictions, which has led to a rash ofhijacking by young persons, including persons too young to even obtain adriver's license.

The manufacturers of motor vehicles and security systems have beenpresented the challenge of reducing the incidents of vehicle hijacking.To date, those proposed solutions have failed to adequately address theproblem or even reduce the incidence of vehicle hijacking.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one form, the invention is directed to a method of responding to anunauthorized possession of a vehicle configured to transport at leastone person. The method includes the steps of: obtaining the vehicle withan associated safety system, the safety system configured to at leastone of: a) generate at least one form of detectable signal; b) generatean electronic signal transmittable to a device; and c) generate at leastone image of a person in/on the vehicle; and generating an input tocause the system to generate at least one of: i) the at least one formof detectable signal that can be sensed by persons in the vicinity ofthe vehicle; ii) the electronic signal; and iii) the at least one imageof a person in/on the vehicle. The system is configured so that at leastone of the at least one form of detectable signal, the electronicsignal, and the at least one image is generated after a time delayfollowing the generation of the input to the safety system.

In one form, the at least one form of detectable signal is aurallydetectable.

In one form, the at least one form of detectable signal is visuallydetectable.

In one form, the safety system is configured so that the aurallydetectable signal is generated from spaced locations.

In one form, the safety system is configured so that the visuallydetectable signal is generated from spaced locations.

In one form, the step of generating an input involves generating aninput through an actuator on the vehicle.

In one form, the step of generating a signal involves generating aninput through a wireless transmitter.

In one form, the at least one image is generated upon the input beinggenerated.

In one form, the at least one image is generated after the time delayfollowing the generation of the input to the safety system.

In one form, the generation of the at least one image involves ageneration of streamed images.

In one form, the method further includes the step of causing the atleast one image to be transmitted to a prescribed location.

In one form, the vehicle has a passenger compartment. The aurallydetectable signal is generated from within the passenger compartment.

In one form, the spaced locations are a first location adjacent to afront of the vehicle and a second location adjacent to a rear of thevehicle.

In one form, the spaced locations are at least three locations.

In one form, the spaced locations are a first location adjacent to afront of the vehicle, a second location adjacent a rear of the vehicle,and third and fourth locations, one each adjacent spaces sides of thevehicle.

In one form, the vehicle has an undercarriage. The spaced locations areon the undercarriage.

In one form, the aurally detectable signal is generated at a level of atleast 50 decibels.

In one form, the visually detectable signal is generated at a level ofat least 4000 lumens.

In one form, the visually detectable signal is a strobing light.

In one form, the time delay is at least 15 seconds.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a conventional vehicle with asafety system, according to the invention, associated therewith andincluding at least one signal generator;

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of one form of the signal generatoras shown in FIG. 1 and capable of generating one form of detectablesignal;

FIG. 3 is a view as in FIG. 2 wherein the generator produces anotherform of detectable signal;

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of a more specific form of thesafety system as shown in FIG. 1 and including a delay feature for atleast one signal generator thereon;

FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of another form of the signalgenerator as in FIG. 1 that produces images that are transmitted to adevice;

FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of the inventive safety systemincorporated into a tracking system on a vehicle to coordinate signalgeneration to a remote location;

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of an exemplary vehicle, as shown schematicallyin FIG. 1, and with signal generators as in FIGS. 2 and 3 incorporatedtherein;

FIG. 8 is a reduced, plan view of the vehicle in FIG. 7 and showingpatterns of light generated from the signal generators/generatorlocations as in FIG. 3;

FIG. 9 corresponds to FIG. 8 from a front perspective;

FIG. 10 corresponds to FIG. 8 from a rear perspective:

FIG. 11 corresponds to FIG. 8 from a side perspective;

FIG. 12 corresponds to FIG. 8 from a perspective taken from the sideopposite that in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram representation of a method of responding to anunauthorized possession of a vehicle according to the invention;

FIG. 14 is a schematic representation of one form of system foreffecting transmission of a signal between an actuator and signalgenerator; and

FIG. 15 is a schematic representation of another form of system foreffecting transmission of a signal between an actuator and signalgenerator.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention is directed to a safety system, as shownschematically at 10 in FIG. 1, for use in association with a vehicle,shown also schematically in FIG. 1 at 12.

The vehicle 12 may be any type of vehicle that is used to transport atleast one person. While the vehicle 12 could conceivably be propelled bya person, typically the vehicle 12 will have a power source 14 operableto make the vehicle 12 self-propelled. The power source 14 may be of anyconstruction, such as one operated by a combustible fuel, oneelectrically powered, one solar powered, etc.

The safety system 10 consists of at least one signal generator 16 and anactuator 18 that is operable to generate an input to the signalgenerator 16 that results in a signal being generated thereby.

The signal generator 16 may produce one or more forms of signal—as thatmay be detectable by persons in the vicinity of, or in the line of sightof the vehicle 12, and/or transmitted electronically to a device on siteor at a remote location.

As shown schematically in FIG. 2, one form of the signal generator 16 isshown to be in the form of an aurally detectable signal generator 16′.

In FIG. 3, in an alternative form, the signal generator 16 is shown as avisually detectable signal generator 16″.

In one preferred form of the safety system 10′″, as shown in FIG. 4, thesignal generator 16′″ is constructed so that the generated signals arereadily detectable by persons within line of sight of the vehicle 12 orwithin close enough proximity to be heard, whereby the vehicle 12 can betracked by monitoring the detected signals. In this one form of safetysystem 10″, the signal generator 16″ incorporates a delay feature 20whereby there is a time interval between when an input at 22 isgenerated through the actuator 18″ and when the signals generated by thesignal generator 16′″ are detectable.

The delay feature 20 may be such that the time interval is apredetermined fixed time interval. Alternatively, the safety system 10′″may incorporate the ability to set a time interval through the delayfeature 20 at different lengths.

It should be understood that, for reasons explained below, the delayfeature 20 makes more desirable the use of a signal generator 16 thatmay be detected through human sensation rather than by reason of anelectronic transmission. A signal generator construction is contemplatedwithin the generic showing in FIG. 1 with the capability of generating amix of signals, with some instantaneously generated and others delayedfollowing an actuator input. Alternatively, Instantaneous signalgeneration or delayed signal generation may be effected by all of theforms of signal generator in a system configuration.

The significance of the delay feature 20 is as follows. Consistent withwhat is described in the Background Art portion herein, there are twoaspects of a carjacking situation that make the event particularlydangerous.

First of all, an instantaneous trigger of a conventional car alarmsystem on the vehicle 12 may cause the carjacker(s) to have an impulsiveviolent reaction. The carjacker(s) may then be prone to inflictinginjury on the vehicle driver and/or passengers whereas they otherwisemight remain composed with the feeling of being in control.

Further, given the success rate for particularly sophisticatedcarjackers, most vehicle owners are of the belief that once a carjackerassumes control of a vehicle, odds are in his/her favor to escape thecrime scene without immediate, or even long term, consequences. Thus,drivers are often inclined to believe that once the carjacker(s) hasleft the scene of the crime, the vehicle and its contents may never beseen again or may be placed in a damaged or destroyed condition. Moresignificantly, an impulse with particularly a young passenger beingtransported by a carjacker is that the passenger is more likely than notto be harmed once the carjacker(s) has become distanced from the crimescene without detection. Thus, this leads persons to often dangerouslyput their lives and the lives of the passengers at risk immediately upondetection of the carjacking effort.

One object of the invention, and particularly with the delay featureincorporated, is that it provides some level of tempering of a victim'sreaction with the understanding that an immediate confrontation is notnecessary to recover the vehicle and/or its contents, as might trigger aviolent or deadly reaction on the part of the carjacker(s).

The present invention is designed so that a victim may have a reasonablesense of comfort knowing that once the delayed signal generatorgenerates the one or more signal forms, the vehicle 12 will be a readilytrackable “spectacle” in the presence of/proximity of observers. This iscoupled with the potential ability to additionally generate a signalelectronically to law enforcement. A thief, realizing that he/she cannotavoid immediate detection of ongoing tracking, is likely to abandon thevehicle.

This system advantage is further enhanced by another aspect of thesafety system whereby the signal generator 16 may, alternatively oradditionally, include an image signal generator 16, as depictedschematically in FIG. 5, through which signals can be transmitted to oneor more devices 24 at which a visual image of the occupant(s) of thevehicle 12 can be generated either as a single image or in streamingform.

In summary, a person having the inventive safety system on his/hervehicle operates the vehicle at all times with the understanding that a)the signal generated by the appropriate generator 16 may be delayedwhereby the carjacker(s) will not immediately be startled into having adangerous reaction; b) the vehicle 12 with the carjacker attempting anescape will, after the delay interval, be a “spectacle” such that thevehicle being carjacked will not be practically blended into normaltraffic or escape to any location where it would not be readilydetectable by persons on the street in a line of sight or within hearingdistance; and c) the identity of the carjacker(s) will be promptly andreliably made.

The significance of a), above, is that in a more secure state of mind, avictim of a carjacker may be able to calmly defuse a situation to allowsafe release of all passengers, thereby avoiding the impulse to takedrastic measures to prevent loss of, or damage to, persons and/orproperty.

At the same time, the signal generator 16 may immediately generate anelectronic signal, as to law enforcement personnel, allowing lawenforcement to immediately become aware of the carjacking andpotentially obtain information that facilitates immediate response andtracking.

As shown in FIG. 6, the vehicle 12 may incorporate a tracking system 26,that may be considered part of either the vehicle 12 or the separateinventive safety system 10, that is coordinated with the signalgenerator 16. A user input to the actuator 18 may cause the trackingsystem to interact with the signal generator 16, which in turn transmitsinputs/data to a remote location 28, as to a device thereat that allowsappropriate action to be taken to pursue the vehicle 12 with theassistance of the capabilities of the tracking system 26. The remotelocation 28 may be a law enforcement facility or a monitoring locationfor an entity that provided the tracking system 26 to the vehicle owner,or the manufacturer of the vehicle 12 that incorporates such trackingsystems 26 as original equipment or accessories.

The signal generator 16 may cause the signal generated at the remotelocation 28 to occur instantaneously without the delay feature 20 sincethis signal will not be detectable by the carjacker(s).

A primary objective of the invention is to make the vehicle 12 a publicspectacle once the signal generator 16 generates an appropriate signal.While conventional alarm systems are operable to flash the vehicle's ownheadlights and taillights, and to actuate the vehicle's horn, thesesystems are typically actuated with the vehicle in a static state uponthe system being breached. Significantly, conventional ‘car alarms’ areso commonly triggered that often bystanders do not even pay attention tothe fact that a car horn is repetitively beeping and/or the normaloperating lights in the vehicle are flashing.

Accordingly, the detectable signal generators 16′, 16′ are designed tobe operational with the vehicle 12 moving and to produce detectablesignals that are so pronounced that they are not likely to be ignored bybystanders and which facilitate easy tracking and following of thevehicle.

As shown in FIGS. 7-12, one exemplary form of vehicle 12 is aconventional four wheel passenger vehicle. The vehicle 12 has a front 30and a rear 32.

In the embodiment depicted, a generator 16′ for aurally detectablesignals is provided adjacent each of the front 30 and rear 32 of thevehicle 12.

By reason of having the signal generators 16′ at multiple locations asshown, persons in front of the vehicle 12 and following the vehicle 12may dearly hear the generated sound.

Suitable signal generators 16′ may be provided at other locations forprimarily external sound transmission.

Further, at least one signal generator 16′ may be provided within thevehicle passenger compartment 34. Within the closed space of thepassenger compartment 34, the signal generated may be ear-piercing,which may induce the carjacker(s) to abandon the vehicle 12.

The signal generators 16′ at the front 30 and rear 32 of the vehicle 12may be at any height. In one form, as shown in FIG. 7, the signalgenerators 16′ are located so as to generate sound from the spacebetween the vehicle undercarriage 36 and the underlying ground surface38.

The sound level generation capability may be dictated by the particularvehicle construction, the mounting location, etc. It is preferred thatthe generated alarm be at a level of at least 50 decibels and morepreferably 90 decibels, and even more preferably at least 120 decibels.

The sound may be in the form of a conventional siren, as used onemergency vehicles, a horn, etc. The sound may be generated continuouslyor in pulses. The sound level may vary or be produced in other patternsthat draw attention to the vehicle 12.

The signal generator 16′ may generate light from any location on thevehicle 12. One or any number of such generators 16″ may be utilized.

As one representative example, as depicted, four different locations areshown on the vehicle 12 whereat there are separate cooperativelyconnected signal generators 16″. As depicted, the signal generationlocation is on the vehicle undercarriage 36, but could be anywhere onthe vehicle. As depicted, there are separate signal generators/generatorlocations 16′ at the front 30 and rear 32 of the vehicle 12. Separatesignal generators/signal generator locations 16″ are provided, one eachat the opposite vehicle sides 40, 42.

Preferably, the signal from the generators/generator locations 16″ is anintense light that disperses in fanning patterns P visible dearly fromessentially all vehicle perspectives. While the signalgenerators/generator locations 16″ are shown to generate light frombeneath the undercarriage 36, this is not a requirement.

The nature of the light is not critical to the present invention. Thelight may be pulsed light, continuous light, a strobing light, etc. Itis preferred that the intensity of the light is at a level of at least4000 lumens and preferably at least 7000 lumens at each generationlocation. The light may have different colors. While white light may bepreferred for visibility, colored lights, such as on emergency vehicles,may attract more observer attention.

The invention is also directed to a method of responding to anunauthorized possession of a vehicle configured to transport at leastone person. As shown in flow diagram form in FIG. 13, a vehicle isobtained with an associated safety system, as shown at block 44. Thesafety system is configured to at least one of: a) generate at least oneform of detectable signal; b) generate an electronic signaltransmittable to a device; and c) generate at least one image of aperson in/on the vehicle.

As shown at block 46, an input Is generated to cause the system togenerate at least one of: i) the at least one form of detectable signalthat can be sensed by persons in the vicinity of, or in line of sightof, the motorized vehicle; ii) the electronic signal transmittable to adevice; and iii) at least one image of a person in/on the vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 14, the actuation of the signal generator 16 may beeffected through the actuator by transmission of a signal 22 that may bethrough a wired structure or wirelessly. As one example, the actuator 18may be a component on the vehicle, such as a switch, that the vehicleowner operates upon detecting a dangerous situation.

Alternatively, and as shown in more detail in FIG. 15, the actuator 18has an associated transmitter 46 that wirelessly delivers the signal 22to a receiver 48 on the signal generator 16, to effect operationthereof. Within the generic showing in FIG. 15 is the intendeddisclosure of virtually any type of wireless communication system. Thesignal 22 may be transmitted over the internet, over a local network,over a dedicated network, etc. The system may be a Bluetooth system orany other type of system in existence, or that might be reasonablydevised, to accomplish the objectives of either initiating thecommunication to activating the signal generator 16 and/or to allowtransmission of signals/data to remote locations.

In still another form, the actuator may be one responsive to an externalstimulus, such as the sound of a gunshot, or another loud noise, such asa scream, whereby system operation occurs without manual input on thepart of the vehicle owner.

Referring back to the method as depicted in FIG. 13, the input may causeat least one form of the signal generator 16 to be operated.Alternatively, multiple forms of the signal generator may be caused tooperate. In the event of multiple signal generator forms, the delayfeature may be utilized on none, some, or all of the forms.

For example, operation of the signal generator 16 to generate a signalin a form not detectable by persons in the vicinity of the vehicle 12may occur instantaneously since it would not be detected by thecarjacker(s) so as to potentially cause a dangerous reaction. This typeof signal may be an electronic signal transmittable to a device locallyor at a remote location as described with respect to FIG. 6 so as topotentially alert law enforcement personnel of a carjacking andpotentially provide additional vehicle information to facilitatetracking.

Further, the generation of images using the generator 16 ^(4′) in FIG. 5could be initiated instantaneously since this likewise would be withoutdetection by the perpetrator(s).

Preferably, at least certain of the signal generator forms that will bedetectable in the vicinity of the vehicle are time delayed following thegeneration of the input to the actuator 18.

As noted, the delay feature 20 may be one that is preselected and morepreferably is one that can be changed by a user. In one form, a selectedtime delay is at least fifteen seconds.

More preferably, at least thirty seconds, and even more preferably atleast sixty seconds, may allow defusing of a situation before aperpetrator is startled by the detectable signals from the generator16′, 16″.

The foregoing disclosure of specific embodiments is Intended to beillustrative of the broad concepts comprehended by the invention.

1. A method of responding to an unauthorized possession of a vehicleconfigured to transport at least one person, the method comprising thesteps of: obtaining the vehicle with an associated safety system, thesafety system configured to at least one of: a) generate at least oneform of detectable signal; b) generate an electronic signaltransmittable to a device; and c) generate at least one image of aperson in/on the vehicle; and generating an input to cause the system togenerate at least one of: i) the at least one form of detectable signalthat can be sensed by persons in the vicinity of the vehicle; ii) theelectronic signal; and iii) the at least one image of a person in/on thevehicle, the system configured so that at least one of the at least oneform of detectable signal, the electronic signal, and the at least oneimage is generated after a time delay following the generation of theinput.
 2. The method of responding to an unauthorized possession of avehicle according to claim 1 wherein the at least one form of detectablesignal is aurally detectable.
 3. The method of responding to anunauthorized possession of a vehicle according to claim 1 wherein the atleast one form of detectable signal is visually detectable.
 4. Themethod of responding to an unauthorized possession of a vehicleaccording to claim 2 wherein the safety system is configured so that theaurally detectable signal is generated from spaced locations.
 5. Themethod of responding to an unauthorized possession of a vehicleaccording to claim 3 wherein the safety system is configured so that thevisually detectable signal is generated from spaced locations.
 6. Themethod of responding to an unauthorized possession of a vehicleaccording to claim 1 wherein the step of generating an input comprisesgenerating an input through an actuator on the vehicle.
 7. The method ofresponding to an unauthorized possession of a vehicle according to claim6 wherein the step of generating a signal comprises generating an inputthrough a wireless transmitter.
 8. The method of responding to anunauthorized possession of a vehicle according to claim 1 wherein the atleast one image is generated upon the input being generated.
 9. Themethod of responding to an unauthorized possession of a vehicleaccording to claim 1 wherein the at least one image is generated afterthe time delay following the generation of the input to the safetysystem.
 10. The method of responding to an unauthorized possession of avehicle according to claim 1 wherein the generation of the at least oneimage comprises a generation of streamed images.
 11. The method ofresponding to an unauthorized possession of a vehicle according to claim1 further comprising the step of causing the at least one image to betransmitted to a prescribed location.
 12. The method of responding to anunauthorized possession of a vehicle according to claim 2 wherein thevehicle has a passenger compartment and the aurally detectable signal isgenerated from within the passenger compartment.
 13. The method ofresponding to an unauthorized possession of a vehicle according to claim4 wherein the spaced location comprises a first location adjacent to afront of the vehicle and a second location adjacent to a rear of thevehicle.
 14. The method of responding to an unauthorized possession of avehicle according to claim 5 wherein the spaced location comprises atleast three locations.
 15. The method of responding to an unauthorizedpossession of a vehicle according to claim 5 wherein the spaced locationcomprises a first location adjacent to a front of the vehicle, a secondlocation adjacent a rear of the vehicle, and third and fourth locations,one each adjacent spaces sides of the vehicle.
 16. The method ofresponding to an unauthorized possession of a vehicle according to claim5 wherein the vehicle has an undercarriage and spaced locations are onthe undercarriage.
 17. The method of responding to an unauthorizedpossession of a vehicle according to claim 2 wherein the aurallydetectable signal is generated at a level of at least 50 decibels. 18.The method of responding to an unauthorized possession of a vehicleaccording to claim 3 wherein the visually detectable signal is generatedat a level of at least 4000 lumens.
 19. The method of responding to anunauthorized possession of a vehicle according to claim 3 wherein thevisually detectable signal is a strobing light.
 20. The method ofresponding to an unauthorized possession of a vehicle according to claim1 wherein the time delay is at least 15 seconds.